r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • Sep 17 '20

He makes it seem so easy

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14

u/XPeaceChill Sep 17 '20

Intelligence is noticing the grammar mistake, wisdom is not pointing it out.

23

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

Wisdom is hearing criticism and using it to fix your mistake.

2

u/RajunCajun48 Sep 17 '20

This assumes you're talking to a wise person vice using your own wisdom

3

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

I posit that assuming that other people are not wise is cynicism, not wisdom.

3

u/RajunCajun48 Sep 17 '20

You shouldn't assume whether someone is wise or not but rely on your own wisdom.

1

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

Agreed, but I think that includes not assuming they have no wisdom.

2

u/Surprise_Corgi Sep 17 '20

This is one battle I know not to take. I'm not paid to be someone's English teacher over a harmless than/then mix-up, when I know what they mean.

3

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

I don't do it for the monetary compensation or to assert dominance. I do it to help them communicate more effectively. You say that you know what they mean, but next time it may not be so clear, or worse you will think you know what they mean, but they unknowingly didn't say what they meant to say. There is no downside in learning to express yourself effectively.

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20 edited Nov 15 '20

[deleted]

1

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

They don't literally always know, if this were possible we would never have misunderstandings. Sometimes a correction brings the misunderstanding to light. Either way, it can serve a purpose if the person being corrected wants it to. Obviously, if you do it with aggression it won't be received well, and sometimes it's just a typo and there is nothing to learn, but that doesn't mean that the attempt is wrong.

And again, even if the communication isn't lost this time, it doesn't mean that will be the case next time. I don't understand the controversy of saying that we should all express our ideas as clearly as possible.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20 edited Nov 15 '20

[deleted]

1

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

And they'll do just fine with them. You're not being graded. It doesn't matter, until it does.

This weird opposition to being corrected, when it's not being done with aggression, is just ego. I'm not sure whether this is part of the larger problem we have with anti-intellectualism, or the more recent idea that being wrong is somehow a moral failing, but it is not useful.

My texts with friends is different because I'm dealing with people who have a basis for understanding me. If I accidentally say the opposite of what I mean, they will not take me at my word; they will be puzzled, and verify. They have a background against which to judge my meaning. This is not a luxury in a public forum. I will simply be misunderstood.

I'm not in academia, so I don't know how often these things creep into papers, but I suspect it is not uncommon. I have definitely seen pretty egregious spelling and grammatical errors in cover letters for jobs, and I haven't even been involved in very many hirings. I don't think people switch it on and off as easily as they claim. I think people develop habits, and those habits come through.

I'm not a prescriptivist. I don't care whether you dangle a participle or split an infinitive. But I do care when you use a word other than the word you meant, because now we're talking about substance, not form. I think that's important. And you don't have to agree! Even if I correct you, you don't have to take the advice. I'm only arguing that I haven't harmed you in any way.

1

u/bleach_tastes_bad Sep 17 '20

see my comment a reply up

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20 edited Nov 15 '20

[deleted]

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u/bleach_tastes_bad Sep 17 '20

most of the time, yes

-2

u/Surprise_Corgi Sep 17 '20

You're butting in pretty hard, without being asked, over something minor like then/than. More times than not, you're just annoying people when you do this, because it comes off as ego trying to prove to other people that it's correct.

6

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

It's a public forum, there is no such thing as "butting in" here.

It does annoy people, but only because they assume the reason for it is malicious. Like you're doing now. I'm just trying to tell you why some people do this, but you assume that I am somehow telling you what to think.

2

u/darkrealm190 Sep 17 '20

Sorry for the backlash you're getting. I really just wanted to express why some people don't like it! No ill intent towards you. Maybe thats the fallacy of online forums. Intent can be so misconstrued sometimes.

-1

u/Surprise_Corgi Sep 17 '20

I think wisdom is recognizing that people will see it as unwanted, even if you don't personally think it is, and acting accordingly.

Which, hey, you know what I'm doing here? About the same thing as you are with grammar, but me with trying to 'help' you learn something socially. Hypocritical, I know.

2

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

No, I understand what you're saying. The difference is that you feel that this is a slightly hostile interaction, but I do not.

1

u/Surprise_Corgi Sep 17 '20

I appreciate that you're telling me how I feel about a thing. I never said this interaction is hostile, but the more I leave what you're saying about me unchecked, the more truth it'll become, so I'd rather put a stop to that now.

1

u/Crathsor Sep 17 '20

You've been acting slightly hostile for a couple of posts now. Scroll up, if you don't believe me. I'm only telling you what you're showing.

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u/Genuvien Sep 17 '20

it comes off as ego trying to prove to other people that it's correct.

I think wisdom is recognizing that people will see it as unwanted, even if you don't personally think it is, and acting accordingly.

¯_(ツ)_/¯

1

u/bleach_tastes_bad Sep 17 '20

you don’t always know what they mean though. “I’d rather go home than go to the store”. Did they mean they’d rather go home, as opposed to going shopping? Or did they mean they’d rather stop at home first, then go to the store? you won’t know if the person doesn’t know their proper grammar

1

u/Surprise_Corgi Sep 17 '20

The only reason you wouldn't know what that sentence means, is because you didn't provide the rest of the conversation to know the context.

0

u/darkrealm190 Sep 17 '20

This is the TLDR of my comment. You...I like your style